Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata Read online

  Vidura started to cry thinking of his weak and blind brother. Then he blessed his nephews and Draupadi and returned to the palace.

  Rishi Maitreya accompanied Vidura. When the Kauravas came to greet him, the sage said, ‘Beware, sons of the blind king. Beware the power of the sons of Pandu. You have driven them away from civilization but even in the forest they earn glory for themselves, glory that the Kauravas can only aspire for.’

  Maitreya proceeded to tell Dhritarashtra and his hundred sons how when the Pandavas entered the Kamyaka woods, their path was blocked by a Rakshasa called Kirmira. Instead of being afraid, despite the burden of calamities on their shoulders, the Pandavas faced him unafraid. Bhima struck him with a mace and pinned him to the ground as a cowherd pins down an errant calf. He then snapped Kirmira’s neck. News of Kirmira’s death spread through the forest and the Rishis, long troubled by Kirmira, rushed to meet the Pandavas, to thank them, and to shower them with blessings.

  ‘No one can hide the radiance of the sun. No one can hide the glory of the Pandavas. Let them live their days in exile in peace,’ said Maitreya.

  On hearing this, Duryodhana decided to abort his hunting expedition. He justified his decision by saying, ‘Vidura must have told them of our plans. The element of surprise is lost. We must do this later when they are not on their guard.’

  After the sage Maitreya left, Karna crept up towards Duryodhana and said, ‘Now that you are the master of all that the Pandavas once possessed, why not travel across your vast kingdom and count all the cows you have? And on the way, we can pass the woods where the Pandavas are now residing to see how they are faring. I know you have promised not to hunt them down, but surely you are allowed to feel sorry for them.’

  ‘Are you suggesting we go to the forest and gloat?’ asked Duryodhana. Karna grinned. So did Dusshasana and Shakuni. Duryodhana laughed. What joy it would be to laugh at Draupadi, who once laughed at him. What joy it would be to see Bhima live as a beggar. It did not take long to convince Dhritarashtra.

  So a great procession was organized of horses and elephants and palanquins with wives, attendants, musicians, dancers, cooks and slaves, to go around Hastinapuri and Indra-prastha and count the cows that now belonged to the Kuru clan. This was the Ghoshayatra.

  Since the unspoken intention was to make fun of the Pandavas, the great Kaurava procession stopped not far from the forest where the Pandavas had taken refuge, and made a lot of noise as the tents were set up, food was cooked and musicians got ready to entertain the revellers.

  Bhima, who was sent to investigate the sudden commotion in the forest, saw all this and went to Yudhishtira fuming, ‘They have camped upwind of us and are cooking in large pots so that I can smell all my favourite dishes. This is a cruel exercise to mock us in our misfortune, brother,’ he said.

  ‘I think they plan to go on a hunt. And we are the prey!’ said Arjuna sombrely as he watched Karna string his bow.

  ‘Hold your thoughts and be still,’ said Yudhishtira. ‘They can tempt us but we don’t have to be tempted. We have fallen prey to their traps before. We shall not do so again.’

  Suddenly, a cry arose from the Kaurava camp. All the sounds of chattering and dancing stopped. The air was filled with the sound of hundreds of arrows descending from the sky. Nakula and Sahadeva were sent as scouts to find out what was happening.

  ‘The Gandharvas have attacked the Kauravas and taken them hostage,’ they said on their return. ‘The very same Gandharvas we encountered after the palace fire at Varanavata. They have bound and gagged all the Kauravas as well as Karna and Shakuni and all their servants. I think they plan to kill them all.’

  ‘We must rescue them,’ said Yudhishtira.

  Draupadi and Bhima and Arjuna turned around and looked at Yudhishtira in disbelief. ‘Why? Leave them to their fate.’

  ‘Dharma is all about helping the helpless. They are helpless now. We must help them. Otherwise, we are no different from them,’ said Yudhishtira.

  With great reluctance, Bhima picked up his mace and Arjuna his bow and followed Yudhishtira’s instructions. They went to the Kaurava camp and challenged the Gandharvas. After a little skirmish, the Gandharvas ran away allowing the Pandavas to set the Kauravas free.

  The Kauravas returned to Hastina-puri shamed by the nobility of the Pandavas. Karna felt especially humiliated because he saw Arjuna defeat the very same Gandharvas who had defeated him. Duryodhana decided that he would leave the Pandavas alone in the forest. ‘We will find them in the thirteenth year of their exile and force them once again to return to the forest.’

  In the forest meanwhile, the Gandharvas hugged the Pandavas with great affection and revealed that they were sent to teach the Kauravas a lesson by Indra, king of the Devas.

  For rescuing his life, Duryodhana is indebted to the Pandavas. Krishna advises Duryodhana to repay this debt by giving him five golden arrows that are in Bhishma’s possession. Duryodhana steals these golden arrows and gives them to Krishna, not realizing these arrows had the power to kill the five Pandavas. This is a folklore to explain how Krishna protected the Pandavas from the mighty Bhishma.

  The Theyyam dancers of Kerala tell the story of black magic used by the Kauravas to destroy the Pandavas while they are in the forest. Each of their attempts is foiled either because of the grace of Krishna or the power of Draupadi.

  There is a Kathakali dance drama from Kerala that informs us that Kirmira had a sister called Simhika who, on learning of Kirmira’s death at the hands of Bhima, decided to kill Draupadi. Taking the form of a maiden, she befriended the wife of the Pandavas in the forest and offered to take her to a secret Durga temple. Simhika planned to offer Draupadi as a sacrifice to Durga, but Draupadi recognized her in time and called out to her husbands who cut the nose of Simhika and drove her away.

  Some say that Lakshmi, the goddess of fortune, sat on Duryodhana’s shoulder all the time. That is why he was always surrounded by wealth. When Lakshmi made her way into the lives of the Pandavas in the form of Draupadi, they gambled her away.

  The ceremonial counting of cows suggests that the society described in the Mahabharata depended on livestock for its sustenance. The cities were mainly established to protect cows and pasture lands. Perhaps the Vedic city was like the Kraal of the South African Zulu tribes where houses were built around cattle sheds. At dawn, the cows were let out and at dusk they returned, attended to by cowherds and protected by warriors. The cattle raid was the chief cause of war. In times of peace, men gambled over cows and bulls.

  While the Pandavas were in the forest, Karna encouraged Duryodhana to conduct an Ashwamedha yagna and get all the kings of the earth under his control so that should ever a war break out against the Pandavas, everyone would side with the Kauravas.

  The Hindi phrase ‘chandal chaukdi’, or menacing foursome, comes from the villainous quartet of the Mahabharata: Duryodhana, Dusshasana, Shakuni and Karna.

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  Jayadhrata

  A few days later, while the Pandavas were away in the forest, Draupadi found to her surprise Jayadhrata at the mouth of the cave which now served as her home. He was the king of Sindhu and married to Dusshala, the only sister of the Kauravas.

  Draupadi offered him a seat and served him water and some fruits, and wondered what brought him to the forest. Perhaps he came to express his sympathy and solidarity. Perhaps he wanted to clarify he did not appreciate the actions of the Kauravas, or perhaps he came here just to gloat? ‘My husbands will be back soon,’ she said.

  ‘I hope not,’ he said, a lusty glint in his eyes, ‘I came to see you.’ Draupadi suddenly felt uncomfortable. Jayadhrata placed before her a box. In it were fine fabrics, exquisite jewels and cosmetics. ‘For you,’ he said. ‘And there is more, if you come with me to Sindhu.’

  Draupadi was shocked and disgusted by the audacity of the man. ‘I am the queen of Indra-prastha and the wife of the Pandavas. And you speak to me like this? How dare you?’

  Jayadhrata lau